COMPANY

Employee Spotlight: Ron Reed

Ron is our Principal Business Analyst here at PointSource, a comic-book junkie and a die-hard Steelers fan. His unique perspective on what it means to be a BA and his role at PointSource make him an integral part of our team.

Being a BA at PointSource means that Ron is an advocate and ambassador for the business of the client. He partners closely with the client to define what their goals are and becomes their representative and voice to the rest of his team. This is incredibly important because he is the first point of contact and liaison between the people on his team and the client. This doesn’t mean he is an exclusive gateway to the client but is rather the first touch point. Commonly, the role of a BA is seen as someone who translates the business needs of the client into what development can do and while that understanding is an aspect of what a BA does, there is certainly more. Ron sees his role not as merely a translator between client and development but actually as the very voice of the client internally. He is the champion and advocate for their needs and goals. What this does is it allows for the goals and expectations of the client to be continually communicated and fairly represented throughout the life-cycle of the project.

Currently, he is working with a company that deals in collectibles like comic-books, rare coins and literally sunken treasure. In the collectibles world, there is a user-need for these items to be graded on a recognized standard scale. The users want a numeric value attached to their collectible that gives that item worth in the collectibles community. The current process for this grading system is entirely paper-based and Ron is working with his team to transform their process into a digital one. It just so happens that this is also his favorite project that he’s ever worked on. As a huge comics fan, he loved visiting his client and walking into a giant secured vault with things like a Super-Boy #2 in perfect condition on display. And he especially loved being able to hold a forty-five-pound gold bar from a shipwreck in the 1800’s with an estimated value of $700,000.

Outside of work, Ron loves anything related to Pittsburgh sports since that is where he hails from. He and his wife take their golden retriever Dinah, named after the cat from Alice in Wonderland (don’t ask) swimming every weekend. Although they can’t take Dinah with them, he and his wife love trips to Disney and they try to go every year. He has a passion for craft beer and is always on a quest for his perfect brew. As a seasoned comic-book lover, he used to be at the comic book store every Wednesday but has since seen the benefit in waiting until the entire story-arch is complete and buys the entire trade volume. This love for comics came from how much moving around and traveling he’s done in his life and comics became a fun way to pass the time while he got settled in a new place. Needless to say, he is a perfect fit for working as a BA on this collectibles project.

Ron described the culture here at PointSource as, “incredibly open with a willingness to collaborate.” This collaboration happens in such a way that ideas are always easy to share and new unique perspectives are encouraged. He loves the fact that if you have an idea on how to make something better, a conversation happens around that idea. He sees this unique emphasis on collaboration in PointSource culture even reflected in the design and layout of the office itself. This element of collaboration around cross-functional teams is integral to the way PointSource functions as a company and as a culture.

On a personal level, PointSource culture has affected him by creating the space and freedom for him to advocate his unique perspective on the role as a Business Analyst. A company that facilitates and fosters such a culture of collaboration is the perfect place for Ron to be the voice of the client. And as someone who has traveled so much throughout his life, PointSource culture is helping Ron to settle in, settle down and plant some roots. So from PointSource to you Ron, grab a craft beer and stay a while.